Moments in the Pasture
by Japanakr11
Summary: I'm back!  Young Link takes a break from his journey to spend some time with Epona and Malon. Please read and review!


Moments in the Pasture

Link sat down in the green pasture and leaned back until his head was brought to a stop by the ground. Putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes. No sooner than he closed them, he reopened them when he heard the nearby whiny of a horse. Above him, Epona looked at him. Link smiled and sat upright with his legs crossed. The young foal leaned into his hand as he stroked her face.

"Link! Are you out here?"

Link looked around Epona to see Malon coming through the pasture gate with a bottle of milk in her hands. Malon spotted him and walked over to the boy and his horse. She sat her smiling self down next to Link.

"I thought you might like something to drink," she said, offering the milk bottle in her hands.

"I sure could!" Link's eyes shone as he took the bottle from her. Malon watched him, amused at how he downed the delightful drink in a few gulps. When he finished, Link let out a contented sigh and wiped the milk off of his mouth.

"That was really refreshing. Thanks Malon!" Link gave her a bright smile and she slightly blushed.

"So how long can you stay here?" Malon quickly recovered. Link's face became a bit somber. The calm respite that was Lon Lon Ranch had released his mind from the troubles of his quest. Thoughts of Spiritual Stones, Ganondorf, and Zelda flooded his brain again. He had one Stone left to find, but getting the Goron's Ruby was hard enough. Could he really go through another ordeal like that? And then, of course, there was Ganondorf. Link knew he would have to face the dark man eventually, but he was scared, quite frankly. What if he couldn't defeat him? Hyrule would be thrown into chaos; he would have let Zelda down- Zelda… He couldn't bear the thought of her being sad. Her face was too pretty to be shadowed by sorrow.

"Link?' Helloo?"

Malon's sweet voice brought Link back to the ranch.

"Sorry. What did you say again?"

"I said, how long do you think you can stay here?" Her sugary voice became more like spice.

"I dunno…" Link sighed, "Truthfully, I'd rather not think about it too much right now. I like how peaceful it is here."

"Well you can stay as long as you'd like!" Malon flipped over onto her stomach, and her fiery hair fell across her shoulders. Link smiled at her. While he could never truly forget his mission, Malon put his mind at ease. It was nice to talk to her.

He looked up at the sky and saw that it had changed from a crystalline blue to a warm red. Link looked over at Epona, who had laid down and dozed off next to him, then back to Malon. She was the first to stand.

"We should bring the horses in. Could you get Epona for me?" Malon walked over to another horse, leaving Link with his. Link gently woke Epona. The foal shook her head and looked at Link with bleary eyes. Link chuckled and the two got to their feet. They walked towards the pasture gate. As he closed the gate behind them, he noticed that the sun was sitting right on top of the horizon. Link and Epona continued walking towards the stable, where Malon was waiting. She held the stable door open as they walked in. Epona went ahead of Link to her stall and quickly nestled in the straw. She neighed softly as Link gave her a goodnight pat on her neck. Link turned around and went back to the stable door, where Malon had been patiently waiting for the blonde boy to finish.

"You're very good with Epona, you know," Malon told Link. He held the door for her as they walked out of the stable light.

"Thanks. She's a great horse." Link replied. Malon looked at the now navy sky.

"Well I don't think that now would be a good time to leave. It's too dark." Link also looked up.

"Yeah, I agree. I'll need my rest for tomorrow."

"Are you really leaving tomorrow? Can't you stay for a couple more days?" Her eyes went to her shuffling feet.

"I think it would be best. I have someone who is counting on me to complete this journey" Link put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"I promise I'll come back," He smiled gently at her, and her face reflected his.

"Ok, as long as you promise to return." Malon replied contently.

The two kids walked into the house as the ivory moon reached its highest point in the sky.


End file.
